Posted on Oct 27, 2023
Newsday - Canada approves historic child welfare settlement - BBC Sounds
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A federal judge in Canada has approved the country's largest-ever compensation of indigenous families who suffered racial discrimination at the hands of the child welfare system.
More than 300,000 children and their families will receive a settlement of nearly US$17 billion, with a further US$15 billion pledged to reforming the system itself.
It follows a human-rights tribunal ruling in 2019 that found the Canadian government had systematically underfunded services provided to First Nations children, compared to those for non-indigenous children.
Cindy Blackstock is the First Nations children's advocate who started the battle for federal compensation in 2007. She told Newsday: “In general, most of the victims will get about £40,000. It will probably be the late summer or early fall of 2024 before the compensation begins to be rolled out. There will be upward adjustments for the children who suffered the most, so children who maybe were removed from their families at a young age.”
More than 300,000 children and their families will receive a settlement of nearly US$17 billion, with a further US$15 billion pledged to reforming the system itself.
It follows a human-rights tribunal ruling in 2019 that found the Canadian government had systematically underfunded services provided to First Nations children, compared to those for non-indigenous children.
Cindy Blackstock is the First Nations children's advocate who started the battle for federal compensation in 2007. She told Newsday: “In general, most of the victims will get about £40,000. It will probably be the late summer or early fall of 2024 before the compensation begins to be rolled out. There will be upward adjustments for the children who suffered the most, so children who maybe were removed from their families at a young age.”
Newsday - Canada approves historic child welfare settlement - BBC Sounds
Posted from bbc.co.uk
Native Americans
Children
Canada
Human Rights
Discrimination
Posted 6 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."At one point, the Canadian government challenged the findings, arguing that the tribunal was wrong to award the pay-outs. At the time, Mr Trudeau said that his cabinet wanted to "make sure we're getting compensation right".
Later, the government said it would pay C$40bn - with C$20bn going to children and their families, and the other half going to child welfare reform.
That proposal was rejected by the CHRT in late 2022 because of fears that some children would be left out or not compensated enough.
Canada and the Assembly of First Nations then agreed to increase the settlement amount to C$23.3bn in April.
Marc Miller, the minister responsible for crown-indigenous relations at the time, has said the agreement is "an important part of Canada's accountability towards First Nations children".
The class-action settlement is one of the largest in North America, surpassed only by a $20bn pay-out from BP in 2010 to cover environmental damage caused by an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and a $206bn lawsuit against tobacco companies in 1998 to recover healthcare costs for tobacco-related illnesses."
..."At one point, the Canadian government challenged the findings, arguing that the tribunal was wrong to award the pay-outs. At the time, Mr Trudeau said that his cabinet wanted to "make sure we're getting compensation right".
Later, the government said it would pay C$40bn - with C$20bn going to children and their families, and the other half going to child welfare reform.
That proposal was rejected by the CHRT in late 2022 because of fears that some children would be left out or not compensated enough.
Canada and the Assembly of First Nations then agreed to increase the settlement amount to C$23.3bn in April.
Marc Miller, the minister responsible for crown-indigenous relations at the time, has said the agreement is "an important part of Canada's accountability towards First Nations children".
The class-action settlement is one of the largest in North America, surpassed only by a $20bn pay-out from BP in 2010 to cover environmental damage caused by an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and a $206bn lawsuit against tobacco companies in 1998 to recover healthcare costs for tobacco-related illnesses."
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